Business Intelligence And Data Analytics Trends For 2024

With the meteoric rise of some high-profile business intelligence and data analytics trends in the last few years, 2024 is poised to be a transformative year for the sector.

The fast expansion of AI and data collection has propelled businesses into making faster and more efficient data-driven decisions. However, technological advancements do not come without risks and the fallout from these data analytics trends has been well-documented, and prominent news in recent times. Consequently, increased regulation and security have often been at the forefront of discussions in the past year.

In 2024, we will see businesses charge ahead with their adoption of BI and data tools, but with rising global legislation regulating BI and data technology, greater data governance and effective policies will be needed.

2024 business intelligence and data analytics trends:

Data governance

Data governance is the process of creating internal standards and policies to control the access and standard of the data collected within a business.

There has been increasing legislation in the past few years focusing on data protection, data transfers, and AI regulation that businesses need to be aware of. For example, the new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill coming into effect this year amends GDPR in UK law, there’s the US-UK data bridge, as well as potential legislation surrounding AI regulation in the UK expected in the near future. Data governance is key to ensuring that businesses are compliant with this changing legislative landscape.

Data security protection

There have been 2.39 million cases of cyber crimes in the UK in the past 12 months. For many businesses, this means they will be actively investing in one of the major business intelligence and data analytics trends for 2024 – data security.

Only a few months ago, a well-known Danish cloud host CloudNordic experienced a ransomware attack which left them unable to recover customer data. There was no evidence of the data being copied out, though the incident was reported to law enforcement at the time. Other companies have experienced similar cyber attacks, with many being contacted by ransomware groups attempting extortion. In 2023, the UK government found that the average data breach resulted in a loss of £1,100 per small business. Additionally, for medium and large businesses, the average loss was £4,960. The knock-on effect these ransomware attacks can have on businesses can holt operations altogether, resulting in the loss of productivity, revenue and customers.

As businesses increase their tech capabilities, the likeliness of cyber attacks increase. Therefore, it is crucial that organisations fully protect themselves and their data. By not managing and protecting data sufficiently, businesses open themselves up to legal consequences, financial losses, and reputational damage.

Generative AI

Generative AI was a major news story last year, with the meteoric rise of ChatGPT, Bard AI, Open AI, and others. Chat GPT produces content (text or images) based on inputted data. Chat GPT alone generated 1.7bn website visits in November 2023.

The potential of generative AI goes far beyond individuals asking the application to write them a poem in the style of William Shakespeare, it has far-reaching potential for the tech and business world. For example, Microsoft has announced plans to integrate generative AI in office software. Soon professionals will have the ability to use generative AI to summarise meetings, reports, slide decks, as well as image creation. Outside of the office, one of the latest announcements has been Volkswagen’s plans to add a chatbot feature to their cars.

Despite the media frenzy surrounding generative AI products like ChatGPT, there hasn’t been a widespread adoption of the technology in the workplace. Only around 6% of workplaces have implemented the technology to some extent. However, there have been lofty predictions of generative AI being transformational in organisations. For instance, in a recent survey, 64% of respondents said generative AI is the most transformative technology of this generation and another study reported predictions that it will replace 3.8% of the workplace headcount in 2024. Consequently, G+generative AI is here to stay and will continue to make waves, but its long term potential is yet to be realised.

Real-time analytics

This subject has been a big talking point recently. Real-time analytics provides insights within a few seconds after data input. The ability to decrease the time it takes for reports and analysis of data to be produced will be revolutionary to the industry. This could lead to faster and more informed business decisions. In fact, 44% businesses cited real time data analytics as their top strategic priority going forward.

In certain industries, such as the cyber security sector, real-time data analytics and machine learning that detects vulnerabilities, can help to manage and mitigate security risks. Thus, without real-time data analytics, organisations would be slower to react to potential risks and dangers.

Data visualisation

It is well recorded how individuals process information easier through visuals. For example, infographics are 30x more likely to be read than plain text. Therefore, data visualisation is an important business intelligence tool.

Data visualisation has topped lists of business intelligence and data analytics trends for a long time. Going forward in 2024, we will see the rise of businesses using immersive augmented reality with data visualisation, allowing for greater user experience with users immersing into 3D data environments.

More businesses will use AI in data storytelling. This will enable businesses to make complex data and insights more accessible for decision makers. By using AI and AR in data visualisation, many businesses will be able to access more personalised and interactive data and BI insights faster.

Data democratisation

Data democratisation refers to the process of making data skills more accessible to everyone in a business, not just tech professionals. This can help empower professionals to use data within their roles and comfortably make data-driven decisions.

The motivation to learn data skills is increasing. This enthusiasm is particularly rife among Millennials and Gen Z employees. 43% and 39% of Gen Z and Millennial professionals respectively are planning to gain data analytics skills in the next year. With data usage becoming more widespread in organisations, data skills will become more common in the younger generations of working professionals.

As avid followers of BI and data analytics trends, we know we are on a precipice of change. Data and BI technologies are quickly advancing and transforming how businesses approach the collection and management of data, playing a key part in decision-making. As governments play catch up to the latest technological changes, we will see the landscape continue to change. It is truly an exciting time to be in this sector.

If you require a business intelligence or data analytics specialist for your organisation in 2024,  contact our recruiters here for tailored and professional support.